Tuesday, October 14, 2008

Mystery Push Poll in District 115

Two residents in District 115, including James Island and Folly Beach, say they have received a push poll with the pollster making at least one false assertion about Democratic candidate Anne Peterson-Hutto. Her opponent, Republican incumbent Wallace Scarborough says that he’s unfamiliar with the polls, which included negative questions about him, as well.

Carl Miller, a Peterson-Hutto supporter, says he questioned the legitimacy of the call, but agreed to answer the questions. According to Miller, the pollster stated that Peteron-Hutto had never voted in an election in South Carolina until she voted for herself in this year’s primary. He was then asked if that would influence his opinion about the candidate. Peterson-Hutto, who has lived in the Charleston area for 12 years, has provided state voter documents confirming her votes in both the 2004 and 2006 general elections. Miller said the pollster was vague when pressed about who she was calling for. Another voter said she had received a similar call.

“I don’t know why someone would spread untruths about me like that,” Peterson-Hutto says. "That’s the kind of politics people are sick of.”

Miller notes that the pollster also asked a leading question regarding Scarborough’s background, though that question was based on a factual high-profile 2006 incident. Scarborough says he’s running a positive campaign and that it wouldn’t make sense to dredge up old stories about himself.